New Magics

an anthology of today's fantasy

Edited by Patrick Nielsen Hayden

Whether it's a tale of a wizard developing his powers or a breakneck chase
through New York City in search of the Grail, the best fantasy is all about
coming face to face with reality—with boundaries—and saying, What if?
It's about stepping across the threshold of what is and what must be into a
world of maybes and why-nots. Most of all, it's a great deal of fun.

It's for today's generation of young readers that Patrick Nielsen
Hayden—winner of the World Fantasy Award for Best Anthology—has
selected these stories from the thousands published by contemporary fantasy
writers over the past two decades. For those readers who keep asking questions
but are never completely satisfied with the answers—only the journey.

Here is National Book Award winner Ursula K. Le Guin with a tale of wizardry
from the world of her Earthsea books. Here is Orson Scott Card, author
of Ender's Game, with the original story of Prentice Alvin in alternate,
magical nineteenth-century America. Here is Newbery Medal winner Robin McKinley
with a tale of an exiled princess's quest to regain her people. Here is
Sandman author Neil Gaiman with a story of chivalry, with a distinctly
modern twist.

Here are werewolves and princesses, battles and enchantments, and great
stories from Jane Yolen, Harry Turtledove, Charles de Lint, Emma Bull, and
more.

Whimsical or harrowing, irreverent or sublime, each of these stories is an
adventure in imagination. Journey from the here and now to New Magics.

Patrick Nielsen Hayden is Senior
Editor,
Manager of Science Fiction, at Tor Books. He has worked in the science fiction
field as an editor, reviewer, publisher, and in other capacities, since the mid-
1970s. The Washington Post has called him "one of the most literate and
historically aware editors in science fiction."

His original anthology series Starlight has won the World Fantasy
Award, while individual stories from it have won the Hugo, Nebula, and other
awards. His other anthologies include the YA reprint collections New
Skies and Up. A frequent speaker at science fiction conventions and
writingworkshops, he also plays guitar with a
variety of ensembles and maintains a popular weblog about politics and
culture. He lives with his wife and collaborator, Teresa Nielsen Hayden, in
Brooklyn, New York.

"Highly recommended." — Library Journal on Starlight 1
"Stellar." — Publishers Weekly (starred review) on Starlight 1
"Consistently high quality." — San Francisco Chronicle on Starlight 1
"Dynamic, often exceptional work, highly recommended." — Kirkus Reviews on
Starlight 2
"Rare's the sequel to match its predecessor, especially when the original
is as acclaimed as Starlight 1, which won the World Fantasy Award for Best
Anthology ... Strong and varied, this anthology has gathered some gems of the
genre." — Publishers Weekly (starred review) on Starlight 2
"Exceptional ... some of the best new writing in speculative fiction."
— Booklist on Starlight 2
"Firmly establishes Nielsen Hayden as an editor of impeccable credentials .
.. It's hard to imagine that there will be a better original anthology
published
this year." — Locus on Starlight 3